Dr. Anthony Chaffee, MD and the “Poison Theory of Chronic Disease”

Dr. Anthony Chaffee, MD has long seen the World differently.  A former All-American and then professional rugby player, Dr. Chaffee’s approach to nutrition was much more practical than simply reading books and taking tests: it was a matter of survival in his profession.  If his body didn’t work at optimal levels, he not only risked getting dropped from his starting role, but serious injury as well, due to the violent nature of rugby games at this level.  “When I was at the University of Washington in Seattle, I took a course in Cancer Biology,” Dr. Chaffe said, “and day one we learned how toxic plants were, as this is how they stop animals from eating them in nature.  We learned 20 years ago that Brussel Sprouts had 136 known carcinogens in them, and mushrooms over 100.  In fact, of all the plants sold as food that we studied, not a single one had under 60.  We were blown away by this, but we shouldn’t have been, since this is basic biology and botany. Plants don’t want you to eat them.  Our professor, seeing our confusion, stated plainly that he didn’t eat salads or vegetables, wouldn’t let his children eat vegetables, and that this was because plants were trying to kill those who tried to eat them.  So I swore off plants of all descriptions, and everything changed dramatically for the better.”

There are no diseases, only toxicities and malnutrition.  When toxic article is removed, the toxicity goes away.

Pet animals are getting the same diseases humans have.  Due to feeding packaged foods, less meat and scraps.

Framingham study found more cholesterol meant lower rates of heart disease and death.  Results of study were misrepresented.  AMA fraud.

Ancel Keys paid by sugar industry to put out fraudulent studies.

No study has ever shown causation of disease by cholesterol.  Lack of correlation proves no causation.

How can sugar cause atherosclerosis?  High sugar causes damage to the body from inside out via glycation. 

Heart disease is an Inflammatory process. 

Cholesterol is good but can get damaged by sugar, alcohol, carbs and then can’t get used by the liver.  Than macrophages suck it up and it goes into foam cells.

People have smoked for centuries.  But heart disease rare prior to the mid-20^th century.

Dr. Robert Lustig UCSF cracked the case on fructose being harmful.  It gets converted to alcohol.

Dr. Chaffee learned about eating meat-only 22 years ago.  Partial carnivore for 12 years, then full carnivore for the last 10 years.  Meat, salt, water only.

Plants use defense chemicals to stop animals from eating them.  10,000 more naturally occurring harmful chemicals by weight in plants than what we spray on them.

Oxalates, carcinogens, fungi are plant defense chemicals.

How do cows, sheep, goats survive eating plants?  All plants are poisonous, but animals become adapted to specific plant chemicals.

Multiple stomachs in ruminants can filter out some of the plant chemicals.  Versus monogastric animals (pigs, chickens)– we eat what they eat.

Body produces high insulin to deal with the plant chemicals.

Erectile disease – first sign of atherosclerosis.  PCOS – a hormonal derangement in women.  Responses to inappropriate foods and damaged cholesterol.  Need healthy cholesterol to make hormones.

300,000 years ago our ancestors were eating mastadons and other animals.  We were apex predators with the highest carnivore rating.   No apex predator grazes.

You’re never going to change your own genetics.  Primitive peoples are pure high-fat carnivores, adapt poorly to western diets.

Diseases of the west are caused by food. 

One type of autism caused by lack of carnitine.  Lots of carnitine in meat, none in plants.  Vegans and vegetarians have higher rate of autism.  Is malnutrition causing a disease.

Red meat has everything we need.  Dr. Chaffee wet ages and dry ages his meat. 

Eat when you’re hungry until you’re full.  Don’t eat again until you’re hungry.

Leptin comes from fat cells, tells your brain you’re full.  Insulin and fructose block leptin, so you don’t realize you already have an abundance of energy.

Listen to your body’s signals.  Kids don’t like vegetables.  Animals eat what tastes good. 

Can eat butter or tallow with meat.  Autoimmune disease melts away with a carnivore diet. 

Optimal diet for humans studied by Dr. J.H. Salisbury of Salisbury steak fame.  People eating plants and grains were getting diseases that carnivores weren’t.  Cured them with a pure red meat diet with no gristle, along with water.  Cured chronic digestive diseases.

Lectins in grains, beans are poisons, get in body via leaky gut.  Body attacks them.  Antibodies formed because of molecular mimicry.

What is the best nutrient to build and maintain muscle?  Meat.

Do we need to eat animal organs?  Polar bear liver will kill you.  It’s too nutrient dense – too much Vitamin A.

Dr. Chaffee disagrees with Dr. Paul Saladino on the merits of eating organ, fruit, and honey.  Think about the amount of organ meat to skeletal meat in an animal.

Argument for eating organ meat is that we would eat nose-to-tail in nature.  But need to look at the proportionality.

We do not need carbohydrates.  The body makes glucose through gluconeogenesis.

If a meat meal stops tasting good, it means it’s time to stop eating.  Your body has had enough.

Is it important to have grass-fed grass-finished beef?  Grass-finished better, but even grain-finished beef has eaten grass for 80% of its life and is still better than anything else you’ve eaten.  Older cow will taste better. 

Social contract: We take care of animals, they take care of us.

Listener asks: Is hamburger good to eat?  Yes.  Don’t need lean beef – Dr. Chaffee eats hamburger 50/50 with a meat/fat ratio. 

Why does every carnivore doctor get food intolerance when they stray from the carnivore diet?  Plants are poison, we’re all intolerant to them.  We notice the contrast of intolerance because we feel so much better when they’re out of our system.  Is not evidence of a weakness, is hard evidence that they’re poison.

Meat from other than beef is good.  Eggs are great.  Egg whites can cause problems. 

Taste buds are tied in to what your body wants, with the outlier of sugar and fructose.  Something that tastes bad is bad for you.

Listener said average life span of Inuit is 50 years, why use them as a comparison group?  They had high infant mortality.  It’s a lie of statistics.  Salisbury’s studies of Native American show them living into the 100s.  Mongol hordes also long-lived.

Are simple carbohydrates anti-stress because they lower cortisol level?  Perhaps, but their metabolic effects lower life-span.

We are designed to live to be 120. 

What about using herbs and spices on a daily basis? The strong flavor is a plant warning you.  Dr. Chaffee’s rule: No plants, no sugar, nothing artificial.  Herbs to be used only medicinally and only if you have the particular condition.

Dr. Chaffee saw improvement in his dental health.  Dental diseases and misalignment due to nutritional deficiencies.

Is meat missing any nutrients?  No.  We are not omnivores, we are obligate carnivores.

Numbness in feet can be very difficult to bring back.  Can be permanent damage.  Worth trying to reverse diabetes.

Butter is totally fine.  Dairy is a gray area.  Can be problematic.

Dr. Chaffee sears his steaks but they’re mostly rare on the inside.

A fasting blood sugar of 80-100 is fine.  Body runs on ketones and glucose.  Ketones are brain’s primary energy source, made from breaking down fat for energy.

Alzheimer’s as a Type 3 diabetes, where brain isn’t as sensitive to glucose.  Need fat and cholesterol for brain to run on.  Ketogenic diet is best treatment for Alzheimer’s.

Dr. Chaffee experiences more stamina on a carnivore diet when he works long-shifts as a neurological surgeon.

The Mallard reaction (browning) happens in the body from years of oxidative stress and glycation.  Can see its effects in the brain.

Dr. Chaffee is on YouTube, Instagram as anthonychaffeemd.  Podcasts as The Plant-free MD, website will be thecarnivorelife.com.